Do's and Don'ts on Grip Finish oils

[fasfan22]

Hi Guys,

I am new to this forum and just purchased a sweet pair of wooden grips for my old Model 36 round butt from a forum member. They are older grips and seem a bit dried out so I was going to apply some lemon oil to them before installing them on the revolver.

I decided first to ask you guys if the lemon oil will have any type of interaction with the blued finish on the gun itself. Should I just install the grips as is?

There is no varnish on the grips ... just the plain grain of the wood, which looks beautiful. When I took the original Magna grips off, the frame was rusted somewhat underneath. I just don't want to cause any more damage to the finish.

Thanks a lot......

 

[mtb1bkr]

Just head down to your local gun pusher and pick up a small bottle of Tru-oil and put a few coates of that on them. That's great for refinishing grips and gun stocks alike.

Bill

 

[Pisgah]

Lemon oil won't hurt the blue, but as already said Tru-Oil, if not glopped on, will bring out the grain nicely and protect. Apply very sparingly and rub it in, let dry, repeat until you have them looking the way you want them to look.

 

[H Richard]

Apply the Tru-Oil with an old soft bristle toothbursh. It will get it down in the checkering and spreads out evenly. Put thin coats on , let dry overnight, and recoat two or three coats. When finished, let dry for 7 days, then rub out with a solution of Rotten-Stone in mineral oil. This will break the glossy finish and give you a warm smooth finish.

 

[HAWKEYE10]

Good post H Richard I will have to remember that.
You can leard so much here. Don

 

[Walter Rego]

I have had good results by completely stripping all of the old finish using a chemical paint stripper, including brushing it into the checkering with an old toothbrush. I like the kind of stripper that cleans up with odorless mineral spirits instead of water. I rinse the stripped stocks well with mineral spirits or acetone making sure to get all of the stripper off. I do as little sanding as possible and with as fine a grain as possible, or use 4-0 steel wool. Then, I use Watco natural color Danish Oil, and brush that well into the checkering. It is very thin and will not clog up the points. I let that dry for 48 hours, and then apply several coats of thinned Tru Oil, rubbed well into the wood with a fingertip. I do not use any Tru Oil in the checkering, the Watco oil penetrates and seals very well. You want to avoid finishes like polyurethane unless it's for rough duty in inclement weather, and want to avoid the "dipped in honey" amateur look.

 

[raw6464]

Strip the old grips? Run them thru a dishwasher cycle... you will be amazed... and Tru-Oil is an excellent product that works.

 

[H Richard]

I like Tru-Oil enough that I have refinished several split bamboo fly rods with it, and it gives a a magical look to the old rods. It's tough to do it right in the checkering of a pistol grip, but the smooth parts come out wonderful. Rifle stocks can be brought up to a custom finish look.